色情视频

A longstanding San Diego State tradition is being reimagined this Homecoming season for a new generation of Aztecs.

For decades, hundreds of students, faculty and staff would scale Cowles Mountain, the highest peak in the City of San Diego. With buckets of paint and sacks of lime, they created a 400-foot-high 鈥淪鈥� just below the top of the mountain, miles away but visible from parts of campus.

Sometimes during Homecoming week, they would set the symbolic shoutout to 鈥淪tate鈥� on fire, compounding what would now be regarded as an unconscionable destruction of nature.

This year鈥檚 students will have opportunities to paint, and in some cases light, a different and more environmentally conscious 鈥淪.鈥�

In the week leading up to the Nov. 13 Homecoming football game, a five-foot-tall scarlet-colored metal 鈥淪鈥� will be displayed for the first time Monday at the Homecoming Pep Rally at the Lee & Frank Goldberg Courtyard at the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. From Tuesday to Thursday, it will be visible on the Student Life & Leadership balcony in the student union. In a private ceremony on Friday, members of the Homecoming court will light candles and place them on the 鈥淪.鈥�  

Additionally, students will have the chance to paint two large, white Styrofoam 鈥淪鈥� letters at a pair of Homecoming events on Wednesday, including the 鈥淐reative as One鈥� event from noon to 2 p.m. in the Goldberg Courtyard.

School officials said the renewed tradition will help connect the current student body, which is celebrating Homecoming on campus for the first time in two years, to those from years gone by.

鈥淐ollege rituals and traditions play a unique role in creating a sense of shared values and experiences,鈥� said Dean of Students Randy Timm. 鈥淭hey help bond us to our alma mater and create a sense of community that extends through generations of students.

鈥淭he tradition of the 鈥楽鈥� at San Diego State goes back decades, through wars, pandemics and generations of students,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is a visual representation that can unite and ignite pride in our community. 色情视频 students are reigniting the ritual of the 鈥楽鈥� with a focus on sustainability. We look forward to bringing the tradition back to life and on to campus.鈥�

The first S-painting ceremony dates back to Feb. 27, 1931. Some 500 students 鈥� mostly first-year students at what was then San Diego State Teachers College 鈥� climbed the 1,500-foot mountain with paint and lime and created the 鈥淪,鈥� which was designed by math professor George Livingston, on the face of the mountain.

It was such a big deal that then-President Edward L. Hardy canceled classes for a day to support the effort.

At the time it was designed, 鈥淪 Mountain鈥� was the largest collegiate symbol in the world, said Seth Mallios, professor of anthropology and university history curator.

鈥淭hat was one of the reasons why the tradition persisted for so long,鈥� Mallios said. 鈥淭he other reason was because the painting of the 鈥楽鈥� started right when we moved from Normal Heights to Montezuma Mesa, and it was an important moment when the school rebranded and took on a new identity and folks got excited about new traditions.鈥�

Hiatus and renewal

鈥淪 Mountain鈥� became a fixture at 色情视频 until World War II, when it was briefly camouflaged out of fears of it becoming a locator for possible Japanese aerial attacks. Following the war鈥檚 end, students continued the tradition into the 鈥�60s, frequently lighting the symbol with torches to celebrate Homecoming or a football season opener. During the Vietnam War era, however, students abandoned the 鈥淪鈥� until the mid-1980s, when a brush fire uncovered the vestiges of the 鈥淪鈥� and prompted another repainting effort.

In 1997, a group of 色情视频 students, faculty, staff and alumni scaled the mountain and re-created the massive 鈥淪鈥� with flashlights. Drivers on Interstate 8 recognized the homage to the 鈥淪 Mountain鈥� tradition and began honking.

While safety and environmental concerns have all but guaranteed students will not paint the 鈥淪鈥� atop Cowles Mountain again, university officials said it鈥檚 important for the newest students to know the history and traditions. The renewal comes at a critical juncture for the university, as two classes of 色情视频 students 鈥� nearly half of the undergraduate student body 鈥� are attending classes on campus for the very first time.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important both for education, but also for community building,鈥� Mallios said. 鈥淪omething that is often overlooked as one of Hardy鈥檚 legacies was that he wanted the university to have the complete student experience. That included athletics, student clubs and organizations, artistic performances, and he was a huge fan of the 鈥淪鈥� being painted on the mountain because that鈥檚 all part of that complete college experience.

鈥淎fter what we鈥檝e been through these last two school years, one of the casualties was the student experience, so I think it鈥檚 fantastic that students and the university are reimagining these traditions in an environmentally sensitive way.鈥�

This is just one of many events happening this Homecoming. For a full list of events and how to get involved visit the.